SECTION 10.01    NOMINATIONS.
   Candidates for all elected offices shall be nominated at an open primary election held on the date and at the time fixed by the election laws of Ohio for primary elections for general statutory plan cities, except that all such officers shall be elected to terms of office as provided in this Charter.
   Persons seeking an elected office shall have the qualifications established in this Charter and, except as otherwise provided in this Charter, shall file petitions in such form and at such times and places as fixed by the election laws of Ohio for general statutory plan cities.
   Each petition shall set forth the name and address of the candidate and the title or other description of the office to which election is sought and the term thereof.
   Each petition shall be accompanied by a statement of candidacy signed by the candidate.  Such statement of candidacy shall contain a declaration made under penalty of election falsification that the candidate desires to be a candidate for the office named in it, and that the candidate is an elector qualified to vote for the office the candidate seeks.  Such petition and statement of candidacy shall be accompanied by a designation of a three-member committee composed of qualified electors of the City to represent the candidate.
   At the option of the candidate, a statement of candidacy may set forth the party affiliation of the candidate and, if such an affiliation is set forth in a candidate's statement of candidacy, the candidate's party affiliation shall also be indicated next to the candidate's name on the ballot.
   A petition may consist of one or more separate petition papers, each of which shall be substantially in the form prescribed in this section.  If the petition consists of more than one separate petition paper, the statement of candidacy of the candidate named need be signed by the candidate on only one of such separate petition papers, but the statement of candidacy so signed shall be copied on each other separate petition paper before the signatures of electors are placed on it.   
   Each petition shall be signed by not less than twenty-five (25) qualified electors of the Ward, in the case of Ward councilmember candidates, and not less than fifty (50) qualified electors of the City, in the case of candidates for all other offices.
   All separate statements of candidacy and petition papers of any candidate shall be filed together as one statement and petition, and the filing fee, if any, fixed by law, paid in the office of the election authorities of Seneca County, Ohio, at or before 4:00 p.m. of the ninetieth (90th) day next preceding the primary election day.
   Write-in candidates for an office shall not be permitted at a primary election.
   Except as otherwise provided in this Section, the candidates for Mayor, Director of Law, President of Council and Ward Councilmember at any regular municipal election in the City shall be the two candidates receiving at the primary election the highest number of votes for those respective offices to be elected, and the candidates for Councilmember-At-Large at any regular municipal election in the City shall be the six candidates receiving at the primary election the highest number of votes for that office. Those candidates shall be deemed to have been nominated at the primary election.
   If a candidate duly nominated at the primary election for the next regular municipal election withdraws or is disqualified, the vacancy so created may be filled by a majority of the committee of three identified in the designation accompanying the candidate's statement of candidacy, if a member of that committee certifies in writing and under oath to the election officials with whom the candidate filed the candidate's statement of candidacy and nominating petition, not later than 4:00 p.m. of the eighty-sixth (86th) day before the day of the regular municipal election, the name of the person selected to fill the vacancy and that certification is accompanied by the written acceptance of the nomination by the person whose name is certified.
   If a candidate duly nominated at the primary election for the next regular municipal election dies prior to the tenth (10th) day before the day of that election, the vacancy so created may be filled by a majority of the committee of three identified in the designation accompanying the candidate's statement of candidacy to represent the candidate named in it.  To fill the vacancy a member of the committee shall, not later than 4:00 p.m. of the fifth (5th) day before the day of the regular municipal election, file with the election officials with whom the candidate filed the candidate's statement of candidacy and nominating petition, a certificate signed and sworn to under oath by a majority of the members, designating the person they select to fill the vacancy and that certification is accompanied by the written acceptance of the nomination by the person whose name is so certified.
   Write-in votes for candidates for an office at the regular municipal election shall be permitted only if fewer than two candidates in the case of the office of Mayor, Director of Law, President of Council or Ward Councilmember or fewer than six candidates in the case of the office of Councilmember-At-Large receive votes for the office at the primary election or if candidate duly nominated at the primary election for the next regular municipal election has withdrawn or been disqualified.
   Any such write-in candidate must file a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate in a regular municipal election and the filing fee, if any, fixed by law, paid in the office of the election authorities of Seneca County, Ohio, at or before 4:00 p.m. of the seventy-second (72nd) day next preceding the regular municipal election day.
   The form of the statement of candidacy and petition for candidates for all elected City offices shall be substantially as follows:
"STATEMENT OF CANDIDACY
   I, _________________, the undersigned, hereby declare under penalty of election falsification that my voting residence address is _________________________ in the City of Tiffin, Ohio; and that I am a qualified elector.
   I further hereby declare that I desire to be a candidate to be nominated for election to the office of _____________________ in the City of Tiffin for (check one box and complete):
_____  the full term commencing ______________, 20__,
_____  the unexpired term ending ______________, 20__,
at the Primary Election to be held on the _____ day of ____________, 20__.
   I further declare that I am qualified to vote for the office I seek and that, if elected to this office or position, I will qualify therefor.
   I further declare that I wish to have (check one box and, if applicable, complete):
   _____  no party affiliation listed with my name on the ballot.
   _____  the ________________ party affiliation listed with my name on the ballot.
                  Dated this _____ day of ____________, 20__.
                         _____________________________
                                                                        (Signature of Candidate)
WHOEVER COMMITS ELECTION FALSIFICATION IS GUILTY OF A FELONY OF THE FIFTH DEGREE.
I, ____________, hereby designate the three persons named below, all of whom are qualified electors of the City, as a committee to represent me:
 
Name
Residence
   
   
PETITION
We, the undersigned, qualified electors of the State of Ohio, whose voting residence is at the address in the City and County set opposite our names, hereby certify that ____________________, whose statement of candidacy is filed herewith, is, in our opinion, well qualified to perform the duties of the office or position to which the person desires to be elected.
SIGNATURES ON THIS PETITION MUST BE WRITTEN IN INK.  ANY QUALIFIED ELECTOR, REGARDLESS OF PARTY AFFILIATION, MAY SIGN THIS PETITION.
 
Signature
Voting Residence Address (Street and Number)
City
County
Date of
Signing
            
Circulator Statement - Must Be Completed and Signed by Circulator
I, __________________, declare under penalty of election falsification that I am a qualified elector of the State of Ohio and reside at the address appearing below my signature; that I am the circulator of the foregoing petition paper containing _______ signatures; that I witnessed the affixing of every signature; that all signers were to the best of my knowledge and belief qualified to sign; and that every signature is to the best of my knowledge and belief the signature of the person whose signature it purports to be or of an attorney in fact acting pursuant to section 3501.382 of the Revised Code.
____________________________
(Signature of circulator)
______________________________       
(Address of circulator's permanent residence in this State)
WHOEVER COMMITS ELECTION FALSIFICATION IS GUILTY OF A FELONY OF THE FIFTH DEGREE.
(Amended 11-8-11; 11-2-21)